• The National Chicken Council (NCC) is calling for an extension to the comment period for the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s (FSIS) proposed rule prohibiting the sale of chicken and turkey contaminated with certain types of Salmonella. The initial comment period was 60 days from when the proposed rule was published, and FSIS has already granted a 30-day extension.
  • As previously discussed on this blog, the proposed rule (published on August 7, 2024) is intended to establish standards to prevent raw poultry products that contain high levels of Salmonella from entering commerce and to require poultry establishments to develop a microbial monitoring program to prevent pathogen contamination through the slaughter system.  
  • In its letter, NCC noted that the proposed rule is “incredibly complex and is based on voluminous technical information” so the current comment period is not adequate to fully review, analyze, and provide feedback. NCC stated that the association and its members had anticipated participating in FSIS webinars would help them to learn more about the proposal and ask clarifying or technical questions, but that “the webinars failed to provide meaningful insights or clarification on most of the clarifying and technical questions asked by participants.” The lack of clarity, according to NCC, impedes the ability to meaningfully comment on the proposal.
  • NCC is requesting at least a 90-day extension of the comment period; the Congressional Chicken Caucus Co-chairs have also asked for an additional 180 days to comment. This would push the deadline to April 4, 2025.
  • Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on this proposed rule.